![](\"https:\/\/a.espncdn.com\/combiner\/i?img=\/photo\/2025\/0921\/r1549129_1296x1296_1-1.jpg&w=130&h=130&scale=crop&location=center\")
<\/a><\/p>\nIt comes after representatives of the winger met with Roosters officials last week to discuss his future.<\/p>\n
The Roosters are holding hope that the 25-year-old could one day return to the club, if he becomes the ultimate code hopper and plays in the NRL again at a later stage.<\/p>\n
Sources close to Nawaqanitawase have indicated no official deal has yet been struck to return to rugby, with the possibility it could come in a cashed-up overseas competition.<\/p>\n
Mark Nawaqanitawase scores a try for the Roosters.\u00a0Photo by Robert Cianflone\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
Regardless, his impending decision comes with rugby league’s Ashes looming, and with Nawaqanitawase in contention to debut for the Kangaroos.<\/p>\n
The flyer was the breakout star of the 2025 season, topping the try-scoring lists with 25 and proving a genuine drawcard with his acrobatics on the Roosters’ wing.<\/p>\n
But the latest development will not prompt the ARL Commission to block his selection, with V’landys confirming to AAP he still hoped Nawaqanitawase would be on the end-of-season tour to England.<\/p>\n
“Its up to the Australian selectors, however I have no problem and hope they pick him,” the ARL Commission chairman said.<\/p>\n
“He’s an excitement machine and would add thousands of fans to the Wembley game against England.”<\/p>\n
Nawaqanitawase’s call comes after he admitted this month he had a difficult decision to make, having fallen in love with the Roosters while still attracted to a home Rugby World Cup.<\/p>\n
“It’s a home World Cup so it can’t not be (a lure),” Nawaqanitawase told AAP ahead of the finals.<\/p>\n
“It’s actually going to be a hard decision.<\/p>\n
“I love this club so much and I have loved my time here. I know the months after the season are going to be tough.<\/p>\n
“It’s obviously a grateful position to be in, in terms of making a decision, but it’s going to be a tough one.”<\/p>\n
Nawaqanitawase played 11 Tests for the Wallabies in 2022 and 2023, as well as featuring in the rugby sevens at the 2024 Paris Olympics.<\/p>\n
Rugby Australia have also indicated the door is far from closed on welcoming Nawaqanitawase back to the sport.<\/p>\n
Former Wallaby Michael Hooper has been among those to say RA should be “desperately trying” to get Nawaqanitawase back to the game, even if it was through a lucrative overseas league.<\/p>\n
“I saw Mark in passing a couple of weeks ago and he certainly looked in good shape,” Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt said earlier this month.<\/p>\n
“I’ve seen him score a couple of very impressive tries. He loves getting in at the corner and quite acrobatically.<\/p>\n
“There’s a few guys floating around that have been in the rugby union production line who I don’t think Rugby Australia has closed the door on either.<\/p>\n
“A lot of that rests in Mark’s court as to what he does next.”<\/p>\n
If Nawaqanitawase does leave the Roosters, there is every chance he could become a regular code-hopper and later return to the NRL.<\/p>\n
It would also leave the Roosters with a stack of cash to spend in 2027, after also losing players including Joey Manu and Joseph Aukuso-Suaalii to rugby last year.<\/p>\n
James Tedesco and Angus Crichton headline the list of off-contract talent for the end of next season, with the latter also admitting he is still interested in a code switch.<\/p>\n
Herbie Farnworth and Selwyn Cobbo are among marquee outside backs set to be available for 2027, able to begin negotiating with rivals from November 1.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Peter V’landys says he wants Mark Nawaqanitawase to be picked for Australia in the Ashes, even with the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":134266,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-163516","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nrl","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-national-rugby-league","11":"tag-nationalrugbyleague","12":"tag-nrl","13":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163516","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=163516"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163516\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/134266"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=163516"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=163516"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=163516"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}